Las Vegas Sun

March 19, 2024

Caliendo has a big head — really — after signing with Monte Carlo

Frank Caliendo

Frank Caliendo.

Caliendo does Rome

For someone who has spent substantial time on national TV, Frank Caliendo is not particularly well-known. It seems that way, anyway, as much of the response to the Monte Carlo’s recently announced headliner has been, “Who is he?” These questions are from those who haven’t seen his recurring John Madden impression on Fox’s NFL coverage, or heard his innumerable appearances on the syndicated “Bob & Tom” radio show, or caught him on “The Late Show With David Letterman.”

Caliendo begins what is being presented as a 10-year contract at the Lance Burton Theater on Oct. 12. He took 15 minutes a couple of days ago to talk about his upcoming Strip gig. Some of that give-and-take:

How did this deal come about?

“It went through several incarnations. When Danny Gans went to the Wynn, that’s really when it got serious, because I couldn’t do anything at some of the MGM Mirage properties because he had a deal to be the lone impressionist with the company. But when Danny went to Wynn, we did talk a little bit about it. When Terry Fator got his deal at The Mirage, we talked about going to some different rooms. There was a lot of interest, and it was an on-and-off thing where we said, ‘Let’s try it this way,’ and it finally worked out.”

What kind of show are we going to see?

“It’ll be a bigger show than what people are used to seeing, different. We’ll be doing a lot of video, we’ll have a band, we’ll be creating some different things than what we’ve been doing. I was getting tired of doing sketches, having to wear all that makeup.”

What’s so hard about that?

“Wigs are difficult because I have an unusually large head (laughs). It’s true. My head is 24 ½ inches. Walter Matthau and Charlton Heston had 25-inch heads. I wish it was because it’s so full of brain, but it’s a thick skull.”

How is your act different from the usual material we see from impressionists?

“I grew up watching Jonathan Winters and really liked the Vaudevillian approach. A lot of impressionists didn’t evolve. They still do the turn-around, Jack Nicholson thing. Bad impressionists have to tell you who they’re doing. I always throw in an obscure impression. There’s a YouTube impression of Jim Rome that I do that a lot of people don’t get. I only do it for a minute. It’s had, like, a million hits on YouTube. In my act, I actually throw three or four impressions in that no one knows.”

How did you grow up watching Jonathan Winters? He seems to be at least a generation before your time.

From ‘Mork & Mindy’ reruns and also from ‘Scooby-Doo.’ The movie ‘It’s a Mad Mad Mad Mad World,’ he’s amazing in that. He’s sort of an old soul, and so am I.”

You mentioned Terry Fator. Do you know him? Have you ever seen his show?

“We actually worked together once in Las Vegas. We did a corporate show together once. … I can’t remember exactly when, but it was right before he went to The Mirage. I think he’s more a singer and ventriloquist, with the comedy coming from that. He’s a fantastic, incredible entertainer. I think he’s a funny guy, super-sweet guy, but the comedy is secondary. He’s classic Vegas. The weird thing is that’s what I do in my act, but I just move my lips.”

I understand you don’t read anything written about you. Why is that?

“I don’t have any use for it. I just do my act for the people who come to my show and want to be genuinely entertained. Those are the people I care about. You look at a guy like Carrot Top, who is the butt of a thousand jokes, but the people making those jokes haven’t seen him perform, they’ve only read stuff about him. He does a great show, an incredibly well-honed, quick, fast-paced show that people love, and you still read the same stuff about him. So I don’t bother with it, honestly.”

Anything in your Wikipedia entry that’s inaccurate?

“(Laughs) I spend a lot of time on radio shows clearing up what’s wrong with my Wikipedia entry. Once, on the list of impressions I do, it said I did a Rosie O’Donnell impression. I guess someone had seen me in a wig on ‘Mad TV’ and thought I was doing her.”

Follow John Katsilometes on Twitter at twitter.com/JohnnyKats.

Join the Discussion:

Check this out for a full explanation of our conversion to the LiveFyre commenting system and instructions on how to sign up for an account.

Full comments policy